The 1993 Azeri ''coup d'état'', also known as Ganja Uprising, took place on 4 June 1993 by militia led by military commander

Surat Huseynov Surat Davud oghlu Huseynov ( az, Surət Davud oğlu Hüseynov; born 12 February 1959 in Kirovabad) is an Azerbaijani colonel and ex-Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, who rose to prominence during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. His military career l ...

, which overthrew President

Abulfaz Elchibey Abulfaz Elchibey ( az, Əbülfəz Elçibəy; 24 June 1938, in Nakhchivan – 22 August 2000, in Ankara) was an Azerbaijani political figure and a former Soviet dissident. His real name was Abulfaz Gadirgulu oghlu Aliyev (Azerbaijani: ''Əbülf� ...

and brought

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Aze ...

to power. While the Azerbaijan lost the war which opposed it to the

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

, president Abulfaz Elchibey sent the Commander

due to its military failures. It thereby created a hostile militia to the Government, precipitating the defeat of the

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. However, Elchibey's government had been discredited by Huseynov's military victories, which formed his militia in his native Nakhchivan, with weapons provided by the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...

. Immediately afterwards, dozens of Elchibey government officials resigned and

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

erupting demanding a change of government. Faced with this situation, Elchibey supported the candidacy for the parliament's presidency of Heydar Aliyev. Some days after, on 15 June, Huseynov's militia took the capital,

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, forcing president

to flee, and making Aliyev president. Immediately, Aliyev was ratified by

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and a referendum held on 29 August. Consequently, on 3 October Aliyev was elected constitutional president in the elections held that day. Huseynov was elected

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

by Aliyev. Aliyev established an

authoritarian regime Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

and extended his government until 2003, when he was succeeded by his son

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...

References

* * 1993 in Azerbaijan Conflicts in 1993 1990s coups d'état and coup attempts September 1993 events in Asia {{Azerbaijan-stub